JOSEPH FRANCIS WALSH, JR., of Cohasset, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully on June 13, 2023, just a few weeks away from his 96th birthday.  Joe was the beloved husband of Patricia Anne Walsh, who preceded him in death, and loving father of five children.

Born in Boston on July 8, 1927, Joe (or "Frank" to his sisters) was one of four children.  He attended Boston Latin School, where he would also later teach.  He graduated from BLS in June 1944 at age 16 and then entered Harvard College for the summer and fall terms.  But World War II was not over yet, and Joe joined the Army.  He worked as a surgical technician at a Framingham hospital, where he assisted surgeons in the operating room.  Upon discharge, Joe returned to Harvard and met Patricia ('51).  Joe and Pat married in 1952, and they moved to Cohasset in 1955.

Joe had an extensive education, and he spent decades teaching others in turn.  He graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Harvard College (A.B., '49) and a Master of Teaching from Harvard's Graduate School of Education (A.M.T., '50).  The National Science Foundation awarded Joe two Academic Year Institutes at Brown University, where he attended graduate school from 1962 to 1964.  Later, from 1983 to 1984, he was a Boston University Science Fellow.  Over the course of his career, Joe taught science courses at various public middle and high schools, and he taught biochemistry and microbiology at Quincy Junior College for 12 years.  In addition, Joe was the first of the Science Supervisors selected for Boston's Department of Science, where he worked from 1970 to 1979.  Among other honors, in 1979, Joe received the Educator of the Year Award from the Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers.

Of his various teaching positions, Joe's longest and greatest relationship was with Boston Latin School, where he was, with various title changes, head of the science department from 1966 to 1970, and again from 1983 through his retirement in 1996.   BLS's 375th Anniversary Reflections said Joe "instituted an impressive 'Distinguished Speaker Program,' which brought numerous Nobel Prize-winning scientists to meet students and speak about science."

In addition to teaching, Joe participated in many other education-related activities and organizations, but his favorite was probably science fairs.  Joe was Chairman of the Boston Public Schools Science Fair Committee for seven years, and he twice served as the Chairman of the Massachusetts State Science Fair Committee.  In 1987, Governor Michael Dukakis personally awarded him a citation after one of his students, who was a finalist in a statewide competition, had chosen Joe as her "most influential science teacher."

Aside from teaching, Joe loved being on the water, and he was very handy with tools.  As his family grew, Joe became active in St. Anthony's Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts.  He was on Troop 28's troop committee for three years, and his sons Joey and Robert were Eagle Scouts.  Joe was devoted to his grandchildren, and he spent years researching the Walsh family's Irish ancestry.

Joe was predeceased by his sons Joseph F. Walsh III and Robert J. (Wendy) Walsh, and his sisters Clare Black and Martha Varrell.  He is survived by his children Patty (Gary) Savignano, David Michael Walsh, and James Patrick (John Becvar) Walsh; his sister Judy Flanagan; and his grandchildren Zachary (Carrissa) Walsh, and Katelyn, Nicholas, and Tyler Savignano.

Visitation for friends and family will be held on Friday, June 23, 2023, from 9 to 10:45 a.m. at the McNamara-Sparrell Funeral Home, 1 Summer Street, Cohasset, MA.  The Funeral Mass will be held across the street at St. Anthony's Catholic Church at 11 a.m., to be immediately followed by interment at Cohasset's Woodside Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Boston Latin School, which referred potential donors to the Boston Latin School Alumni Association at 27 School St., #300, Boston, MA  02108, or online on the BLSA Association website.  Joe wanted donations specifically to support student scholarships, but the online submission form does not provide such options.  Donors can specify "in memory of Joseph Walsh, Jr."